


Whispers in the Wind

by soranoyume



Series: Break Yourself [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, SI-OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 01:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3877528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soranoyume/pseuds/soranoyume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short interludes in different POVs for events in the Gu(il)tless 'verse, usually events that Renge has no knowledge of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jiraiya - Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Names carry weight and responsibility, for both those who are given and those who give.

Jiraiya picked up his cup of tea and took a careful sip, wary that Minato was the one who made it. As talented as his student was, Minato could never seem to make anything edible or drinkable. Jiraiya had found out the hard way. But the tea this time was nice and fragrant; Kushina’s handiwork.

 

 _“I was thinking...,”_ Minato said with a wide smile, his eyes crinkling shut. _“We want to raise our_ children _to be shinobi like the one in your book!”_ He patted his copy of _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi_ , slightly battered from multiple readings. _“That’s why we’ve decided to name_ our firstborn _after the main character in your book. What do you think_?”

 

Jiraiya stared at in Minato in shock, nearly dropping his cup. _“A-are you about sure? It’s just a random name. I came up with it while I was eating some ramen—”_

Kushina chose that moment to leave the kitchen and join them. Cupping her rounded belly, she gave Jiraiya a small smile. (Dressed in a form-covering dress. Such a shame. Even pregnant, Kushina was a beauty. More so, because she was less likely to become violent, in fear of harming the babies.) Jiraiya hastily set the cup down.

 

_“Naruto.... It’s a beautiful name.”_

_“Kushina...,”_ Jiraiya murmured.

 

They both glanced at her belly, where two small lives were growing. One day, they would grow to be great shinobi like their parents. For now, though....

 

Jiraiya gave a nervous laugh. _“If I name him, that makes me his godfather, right?_ Both of their godfather? _Are you sure you want that on your heads?”_

Minato smiled, sharing a glance with Kushina, who moved to stand next to him. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Minato was the one who responded.

_“Absolutely! You're a man with true skill,”_ he said, conviction shining through his eyes. _“An example we should all follow. I can't think of a finer shinobi than you.”_

Just by looking at them Jiraiya could tell that they really believed Minato’s words. They really wanted him to be their sons’ godfather. Jiraiya let out a heavy sigh, a smile twitching at his lips.

 

Well, who was he to deny the Fourth Hokage and his wife? That would only lead to a beating from Kushina, heavily pregnant or not.

 

But that begged the question of—

 

“What about your other boy? What are you going to name him?”

 

Minato and Kushina shared another look, this time tinged with amusement. So what if Jiraiya sounded a bit nervous? He had reason to be! Being the godfather of one Namikaze-Uzumaki spawn would be hard enough, let alone two. And with one of them being named after a character from his book (named after a ramen topping).... Just how bad would the other one be?

 

“We want to name him Renge,” Minato said.

 

Jiraiya looked at him sharply, but before he could say anything, Kushina continued where her husband left off.

 

“It’s sad that two friends and teammates became enemies. By naming our sons Naruto and Renge, we hope that the two can reconcile in life.”

 

“And you know Kushina won’t let the two fight each other,” Minato smiled sardonically.

 

“Damn right I won’t!” said woman exclaimed, one hand clenched in a fist raised near her face, a fire in her eyes.

 

Both men grimaced.

 

“If anything happens to us, we want the twins to have someone looking out for them,” Minato said, continuing their conversation. “That includes Kakashi.”

 

“That boy? Are you sure?” Jiraiya was a bit dubious. Sure, Kakashi was Minato’s student and a strong shinobi. But he was still a kid, and with so many issues, too. He could still remember what the brat was like a few years ago.

 

The blonde gave a half-smile. “Hopefully the twins will be a good influence on him.”

 

 _And hopefully he’ll mitigate your bad influence_ , went unsaid.

 

“Hm,” Jiraiya gave a thoughtful hum. Well, at the least, they would terrorize the Hatake brat. After some of the things the brat accused him of, Kakashi deserved it. “And the godmother?”

 

“I chose her!” Kushina shouted, a wide smile splitting her face in two. “Mikoto-chan, of course. I’m already little Itachi-chan’s godmother.”

 

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows and glanced at Minato, but Minato was smiling, too. Hmm. Obviously Kushina chose the Uchiha woman because she’s close to her, but Minato....

 

A political move?

 

If so, well played. At the least his student’s boys will grow up surrounded by dark-haired beauties.

 

But Kushina misread his expression as disbelief and launched into a loud fit.

 

“What’s that look for! I’ll have you know—”

 

...Which lasted for quite a while. No matter how much he pleaded for Minato to rescue him through his eyes, his traitorous student only smiled. After almost an hour’s rant, Jiraiya finally cut in.

 

“Well, this is fun and all, but I have to go. Just one last thing: next time you get pregnant, I hope it’s a girl. She’ll definitely grow to be a looker!”

 

“Sensei!”

 

He was quick to make his retreat, the feel of Kushina’s rage bubbling behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Italicized sentences are taken from the manga.
> 
> To clarify, Minato and Kushina thought they were going to have twin boys. It's an assumption all parties involved made when they went in for a check-up and the iryou-nin identified Naruto's gender but couldn't get a good enough view of Renge. Pretty much Renge just didn't much care to uncurl more than necessary, except when she and Naruto "explored" the womb (more like kicked and punched at whatever they could reach).
> 
> I've never read the official version of "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi," so I don't actually know what happens in it. I do know that Naruto's main character and that Renge's the antagonist.


	2. Kushina - Cycle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the first and last time she sees her, but she doesn't know it yet.

“What? What’s wrong?” Minato asked through gritted teeth.

 

Kushina tightened her already bone-breaking grip on his hand, panting. She tried to move to get a good look at the bundle in Biwako-sama’s arms, but she could barely move from the pain and exhaustion. And she was only half way through, too!

 

Biwako-sama’s face looked surprised as she gazed at the child in her arms. Kushina _really_ wished she could see, it was her child, damn it! And she had a right to know what was going on!

 

Finally, Biwako-sama tilted the child toward Kushina and Minato so that they could see, and said:

 

“It’s a girl.”

 

“Oh,” a whoosh of air escaped her. (Dimly, she noted Minato’s flabbergasted face and vowed to make fun of it later.)

 

That—that wasn’t what she was expecting. A girl. A _girl_! They’d been expecting twin boys! That changed so much. They’d have to go shopping, buy more babies clothes, except in girl colors. And the room! Right now, it was painted blue (being the only color they could agree on). Should they change it? What color, though? Pink?

 

...Nah, too girly. Not _yellow_ , though. Minato would gloat for ages! Maybe red? But Minato had already said no to it. They could decide later.

 

And her name. What were they going to do about her name? They were going to name their firstborn Naruto, but now that their firstborn was a girl, would the name still fit?

 

There was still Renge, though. Renge could be a girl’s name.

 

Decision made, Kushina spoke up. “We’ll call her Renge.”

 

She glanced to Minato, wondering what his reaction would be. He was sporting a look of awe and adoration now, staring at the small bundle in Biwako-sama’s arms.

 

“Biwako-sama,” Taji suddenly exclaimed, voice panicked. “The baby!”

 

Kushina turned her head sharply back toward her baby. What? What was wrong with her little girl? She was so small, so cute, so—

 

So quiet. Are babies supposed to be so quiet?

 

“What’s wrong?” Minato asked. His worry was evident in his face and voice. He looked like he wanted to leap up at and snatch the child out of Biwako-sama’s hands.

 

Biwako-sama examined the child closely, her brows furrowed. “She’s not breathing properly. There’s something wrong.”

 

“It’s... it’s her chakra. It’s overwhelming her.”

 

Mikoto, who had been quiet through most of the exchange, spoke up from next to Kushina. The red head looked to her friend, worried. Mikoto’s eyes were red, Sharingan activated, as she stared at Kushina’s baby, her face stricken. She’d had her own child, her second, only a few months ago. She looked so tired, but she’d been so determined to be here, to support Kushina just like Kushina had supported her.

 

Mikoto shared her pain.

 

Suddenly the baby—her baby—started crying, wailing, small lungs working hard to express her discomfort. It was heartbreaking. Kushina felt sympathetic tears welling in her eyes. She felt more than saw Minato shift, wanting to hold their baby, to comfort her, but not knowing if he could.

 

“There is nothing I can do here,” announced Biwako-sama.

 

Kushina froze in shock. What—

 

But before she could do or say anything, the elderly woman continued.

 

“Mikoto-dono, please take her to the hospital. Taji and I have to stay and cannot leave. It is imperative you get this child to someone who can help her.”

 

“I’ll go,” Minato volunteered, moving to stand.

 

However, Mikoto was already up and taking the baby gently into her arms.

 

“No, you have to stay,” Mikoto said. “You have to be here in case something goes wrong. I’m the only one who can go.”

 

Kushina looked up into her friend’s determined face and forced herself to relax. Minato still looked worried, though, so she tugged on their connected hands until he sat back down. She looked up into her friend’s drawn, determined face, looked into her Sharingan-red eyes, and knew she could trust Mikoto (just as she had trusted her with so much else for so many years).

 

“Keep my daughter safe for me.”

 

“I will,” Mikoto replied, voice serious.

 

She was always so serious, Kushina thought fondly. Kushina was always trying to make her relax, usually, but Mikoto’s serious nature was part of what made her so trustworthy. She always kept her word.

 

Kushina took one more long look at her daughter—her beautiful, small daughter—before Mikoto quickly left, movements blurring in her speed.

 

A sharp pain tore through her, making her gasp, and she turned her attention back to Taji by her feet, who was looking between her legs, brows furrowed.

 

“Keep breathing!”


	3. Hiruzen, Yamori - Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have failed so many people so many times, but these are the two they do not want to fail.

Hiruzen stood abruptly, knocking his chair over in his haste. Across from him, the Anbu giving his report stiffened. They both turned to face the sudden surge of violent chakra. A chakra signature most ninja in Konoha recognized.

The Kyuubi's chakra.

"Tori, go! Ascertain the safety of the Uzumaki twins!"

The Anbu captain gave only a nod of acknowledgement before he was gone, a cloud of smoke left in his wake. Hiruzen hurried over to the window and stared out at where the chakra originated, cursing the fact he could not leave his office to check on the twins. The Kyuubi's chakra would only surface in dire situations. Either the Kyuubi had somehow escaped... or Naruto and Renge were in danger.

Hiruzen paced his office, waiting impatiently for someone to appear and inform him of the situation. Eventually, he righted his chair and sat down. There was no need to alarm others with his agitated state. But he could not focus on anything. Eventually he caved in and pulled out his crystal ball.

.

When Yamori felt the volatile chakra spike, he almost dropped his katana in alarm. Cursing, he sheathed his blade and body flickered to where the twins lived. The twins were in danger! Either that, or his fears were realized and the Kyuubi was escaping its seal. He should have informed the Hokage about Naruto accessing the Kyuubi's chakra. He should have kept a better eye on him.

But it was too late to regret.

When he neared the apartment, he felt his heart drop. He could hear screaming. _Naruto_ was screaming. So was Kinoshita-san.

He paused on a nearby roof. None of his fellow Anbu were visible nearby. Was he the first to arrive? Where were the police? He could not wait for any others, though. If the twins were in danger...

Yamori burst through the window, shattering the glass pane, heedless of the danger, landing lightly on his feet. He glanced at the scene—and felt insurmountable rage. Kinoshita— _that woman_ —with a bloody kunai by her feet, wrestled Naruto. The little boy was valiantly trying to escape her. Near them was Renge, her figure prone, laying with her eyes closed, a puddle of blood by her head. Yamori tracked the blood to its origin: Renge's face. _Her face_ , where there was a bloody gash under her right eye.

It only took Yamori a moment to assess the situation. Then he launched himself at the woman, resisting the urge to unsheathe his katana, and pushed her off Naruto. Her body flew into the wall. He wanted to slaughter the woman, but instead he pulled out a kunai and stood protectively over Naruto.

"Ya-Yamori?" he heard Naruto whimper.

But Yamori did not tear his eyes away from the woman, her form limp against the wall. He could not look away to ascertain Naruto's safety or to see the damage done to him and Renge. He would have to wait for backup.

"Check on Renge," he said instead.

Yamori listened closely as Naruto sobbed and shuffled his way toward his twin. He listened as the boy shook his sister and pleaded for her to wake up, watched as the woman stirred and struggled to rise from her slumped position, and waited. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes wide, swinging wildly about, glaring at the children behind him.

He did not wait long. Soon, two more Anbu joined him. Tori, one of the captains, and Hyou.

"Situation?" Tori asked.

"Woman, late sixties, assaulted two minors in her care. Male boy, relatively unharmed. Female girl, bleeding profusely from the face. Condition unknown." Yamori was careful to leave out identities, not wanting who Naruto was to affect how his colleagues handled the situation, though he had no illusions about their ability to identify Naruto and Renge.

Tori switched places with Yamori, allowing him to rush to the twins' side. Hyou was next to Renge, checking her pulse. Next to them, Naruto sat stiffly, holding his sister's hand in a tight grip, tears falling rapidly from his eyes. There was blood on his hands—Renge's blood—and bruises on his body. Bruises like the ones he had once willfully hoped came from children being careless, that he had written about in his reports because he knew he hoped futilely.

"They deserve it! Those _demons!_ Unnatural—" the woman shouted, but Yamori was not listening.

He watched Hyou closely, waiting for a verdict. He could not dare look at Renge, at her bloodied body. "Is she…?"

"Alive. Barely," said Hyou. He opened her eyelids and sniffed her shallow breaths. "Poisoned, I think."

Poisoned. Yamori felt his heart drop. That woman had poisoned her? What about Naruto? But when he glanced at the boy, he could see no obvious signs of poisoning.

"Take them to the hospital," Tori commanded. "I'll deal with her."

Yamori made a sound of acknowledgement before hastily scooping up Renge before Hyou could. Hyou nodded and motioned Naruto to hold onto him, but Naruto would not let go of Renge's hand.

"It will be fine," Yamori tried to reassure Naruto. Tried to reassure himself. "We're taking her to the hospital. Okay?"

Naruto looked up at him, dazed, but nodded. Slowly, he released his grip on Renge's hand and allowed Hyou to pick him up. Yamori quickly left toward the hospital, cursing the fact one could not body flicker with children as young as them. He felt as if too much time passed before they reached the hospital and passed the twins to the startled hospital staff. Renge was immediately taken for surgery.

"I'll alert the Hokage," Hyou murmured before he departed.

Yamori barely gave a nod of acknowledgement as he followed after the twins. Please let them be alright, he prayed. Please let Renge live. He did not know what he would do if she died. If either of them died. The sight of Renge's blood on his hands sickened him.

This was a child who he watched grow up, whose diapers he had changed. Please, Shinigami-sama. Please do not take her like you took her father.

Yamori had failed their father and their mother. He had failed them. If they survived—and they had to; she had to, for Naruto—he vowed he would not fail them again.

.

Hiruzen stood at the door, watching Naruto sleep fitfully next to his sister. His sister, who was on life support, just barely having escaped death. If the poison had been extracted any later... And the wound on her face!

Hiruzen felt old, and heavy. How could he have failed his successor's children so badly? Naruto should have been hailed a hero. He and Renge should be able to live relatively happy lives. This was supposed to be a time of peace.

Instead, Hiruzen had failed them three times. Once, when he was unable to prevent their parents' death. Twice, when he left them with Hayashi-san, whom he trusted to love them and raise them as her own, as she had been so fond of Kushina. And now...

But he had been assured the Kinoshita-san was different. Danzou had told him—and maybe that was the problem. More and more, he and Danzou disagreed on much. Danzou had disagreed when he wanted to have an active role in the twins' lives. It was what he owed them. But Danzou's argument had been sound. By associating with the twins, he would be painting targets on them. He would have made it easier for people to guess their heritage and that Naruto was the jinchuuriki. He would have made them political targets. Targets for assassination, even.

So he had distanced himself from the twins. He assigned Anbu to guard them and religiously read their reports. Reports that he now knew were falsified.

He knew, now. Either his Anbu were lying in their reports... or someone was tampering with them.


	4. Yamori/Raidou - Masks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mask is only a mask for as long as you wear it.

Packing up his room in Anbu Headquarters took longer than Yamori thought it would. He should have expected it, considering he had been living there for most of four years.

 

Ever since the Kyuubi Attack.

 

He would miss living at HQ, though there were some things he was glad to leave behind.

 

"Hey, Raidou! Why're you still wearing your mask?"

 

Such as, he thought with mild exasperation, living in close proximity to Genma.

 

"Hello," he responded, giving his friend a curt nod, but said no more.

 

Genma grinned around the senbon in his mouth and slung an arm around Yamori's shoulder, jostling him. Yamori did not react; he was used to the action. Instead he turned his attention back toward his now empty room. All of his belongings were packed into boxes and then sealed into scrolls, now resting securely in his hip pouch. Genma followed his gaze and let out a sound of comprehension.

 

"Ah," he nodded his head mock-sagely. "Right. Heard you're being upgraded from babysitting duty to babysitting duty?" Genma grinned sardonically, tilting his senbon downward. "Doesn't that mean you'll have more time for me?"

 

"Yes," Yamori responded.

 

Genma frowned, pulling his arm away from Yamori to shrug dramatically, hands splayed upward. "Oi oi, no need to be all stoic. You're not on duty right now, right?"

 

Yamori stiffened for a fraction of a moment, then slumped slightly. Genma was correct. Yamori would be "off-duty" indefinitely. The likelihood of him being assigned an Anbu mission for the next few years... was inconsequential. Letting go of his Anbu persona was more difficult than he expected it to be. He acknowledged that the action was necessary, but he only knew his charges as Yamori... and they only knew him as Yamori. And that was the crux of the problem.

 

Yet Yamori knew he was only prolonging the inevitable. So he took a deep breath and took of his mask—and Raidou gave his friend an infinitesimal smile, a small upward twitch of his lip.

 

"You're right."

 

Genma gave a wide grin back, slapping Raidou's back, eliciting a grunt from him.

 

"That's more like it! C'mon, I'll buy you a drink. Man, you will _not_ believe what happened today!"

 

Raidou let Genma sling an arm back around his shoulder and lead him out, sparing one last glance at his old room.

 

He would miss being Yamori, but he needed to be Raidou now. For himself, and for Naruto and Renge.


	5. Yamori/Raidou - Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He would protect them, as much as he could.

 

The first time Yamori met the twins, they were wrinkly, squashed little babies. They were one of the few things their parents left behind. Remnants of two great people who died protecting Konoha, protecting them.

 

They were loud, squalling, sticky, stinky monsters. And Yamori wanted nothing to do with them.

 

He saw the jinchuuriki first. Peripherally, as the Third Hokage stood holding it, delivering his speech after the end of the Kyuubi Attack. The former Hokage held it up for all to see, calling it a hero, explaining how Minato-sama sacrificed his life to save Konoha, sealing the Kyuubi in it.

 

Even though he knew he should not, Yamori could not help but hate the baby. The container of the demon who took his precious Hokage away, the thing that caused him to fail in his duty... he hated it.

 

Yet, storing away his hatred and grief for later, he dutifully the Third Hokage back into the Hokage’s office, guarding the now interim-Hokage. He watched warily as the Hokage approached the crib set up near the desk—the crib Yamori had watched Minato-sama struggle to put together by himself, because while he knew he would be busy with his duty as Hokage, Minato-sama wanted to be a great father to his children.

 

 _His children_.

 

Yamori watched cautiously as the Third lowered the jinchuuriki (like his mother) into the crib, watched as it rolled over and clung to its sibling, and knew he would not be able to hate it forever. Knew doing so would be a disservice to its—his—parents. Minato-sama would not want him to blame the baby.

 

Minato-sama would want Yamori to guard Naruto and Renge with his life, because they were precious to him.

 

And they would become precious to Yamori, too.

 

But until then, he was allowed time to be selfish. To cruelly fault a child, a monster-container, for the death of the man he swore to protect. A dereliction of duty, just for now.

 

Behind his mask, Yamori wept silent tears while his once old, now new, Hokage wept over the crib, mourning the deaths of those they loved. For the Third, too, they were a reminder of someone he loved. They were the last lives his beloved wife had helped birth. They were the legacy of his student’s student, the last of his beloved Shodaime’s wife’s family.

 

Later, Yamori would come to love them, but for now, he could not bear to look at them.

 

.

 

Raidou had once thought he would be content watching over the twins as Yamori, a mask and distance separating them. He never thought he would ever approach them as Yamori, never thought he would become attached to them, protective of them. More than a duty, more than an obligation, he started to love them as family.

 

Even though the amount of contact he could have with them was limited.

 

He loved them as they were, even though they had their flaws. Naruto was brash, cheerful, and loud, like his mother, but he could also be thoughtful—for a child. There was something different about Renge, though. She was smart, like her father. She understood concepts quicker than her brother, most likely quicker than other children. Yet, sometimes.... Sometimes she frightened him more than Naruto, with his jinchuuriki status, did. When her eyes turned blank and she stopped functioning, when all she did was sit and breathe like a living doll, soulless.... Raidou would always be thankful that Naruto was there to bring her back, to bring vitality back into her.

 

Even though they could be such rascals. Such troublemakers. It hurt him more than he expected whenever he heard someone talking ill of the twins. And whenever they exacerbated the problem? He wished Renge was not such a hostile creature, that she was not smart enough to realize how different most people’s attitude was toward them. Wished she was smart enough to realize what she was doing only made things harder on them.

 

Raidou never thought he would spend so much time, so much money on a pair of children with no relation to him. But then, he never thought he would let his Hokage die, either.

 

Maybe it was penance at first, but he really was attached to the twins. More than his duty called for, more than the Third expected. Or maybe he did. Maybe the Hokage hoped he would become attached to the twins, look out for them, unlike Kakashi-san, who had disappeared into the depths of Anbu. Depths he, too, might have disappeared into if the Hokage had not assigned him to guard the twins (and it was the twins the Hokage assigned him to, not just Naruto, the jinchuuriki, like the others).

 

But he would be their protector, no matter how much Renge doubted him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a Wiccan (from FF.net) suggested Raidou's reaction to meeting the twins. Not sure if it was supposed to be the first time he met them or not, but that's what a wrote, plus some.


End file.
